


hang on to the end

by sleepfighter



Category: Inspector Chen - Liz Williams, Pet Shop of Horrors
Genre: Crime, Crossover, Crossover Paring, Folklore, Murder, Novella
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-20
Updated: 2010-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 21:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/142062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepfighter/pseuds/sleepfighter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Come to scenic Singapore Three: enjoy the beautiful, life changing sites of downtown...</i></p><p>from SINGAPORE THREE BIOTHERIC OUTREACH COMMITTEE: Welcome To Singapore Three</p>
            </blockquote>





	hang on to the end

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jamjar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamjar/gifts).



> My thanks go to iBear for helping me figure out the intricacies of the American Armed Forces, Kastaka for beta, and ysadrel and everyone else who had to listen to me confuse and and unconfuse myself while writing this in chat and elsewhere.

Jessie Xu stood at the window in her hotel at the edge of downtown Singapore Three, close to the tram. As compromises go when one is forced to vacate one's flat -- when one finds that her very expensive security consultants couldn't vouchsafe for her life if she "persisted in staying in an antiquated monstrosity" in the family apartment building-- it was expensive, but ultimately, the only truly bearable choice she'd had. It was either that or have her privacy ruthlessly invaded by some very efficient bodyguards at all hours of the day and night, and she'd wanted at least a little downtime for herself and her daughter, who was in the suite next door. She'd hardly heard a peep out of the girl except for breakfasts and meetings: the girl did as she pleased after her work was done. Quite the party girl, she thought, staring blankly down into the summer twilight. Below her, a handsome boy, fingers tipped by claws and an extra bone spar in the back of his elbow, dressed in layers of tight black leather and cobwebby saturated cotton wraps, strode up to a girl who wasn't that much younger then her daughter, who grinned at him good naturedly and giggled when he leaned forward to whisper into in her ear. She didn't know how the demonkind stood it, and quite frankly, she didn't much want to. But they were visible just about anywhere she looked: they seemed to like this place on the edge of the tourist and shore districts. She watched as a young man with a delicately pointed tail poking out of his designer jeans walked up to a delicate-looking young woman in precarious high heels (to match her towering hairdo). ‘As the woman simpered at his approach, she shook her head. In her day, girls didn't let demons approach, let alone consider dating them, but the gossip of her secretaries outside of her office as they did their work informed her that not only was it a brand new world where such acts were chic, but they were becoming the norm, gradually.

Shaking her head, she turned resolutely back to her temporary office setup. She might not be able to live properly in her apartment right now, and her office might be closed, but she’d be dammed if she was going to not at least answer her emails today. Arranging the renovations to her flat had taken more time then she really wanted to contemplate. She did have the office full of highly efficient secretaries, but they could hardly be expected to answer some of her more delicate correspondence. She hadn’t spent those years dragging her company to the top of the heap of bioetheric research facilities by sitting on her ass. Taking risks and integrating her offices with the potentially dangerously lethal new magic, forging the way in magical best practice, had been something that investors had found risky back in the old days, and she’d had to fight for funding and for contracts that might have otherwise gone to other, more conventional firms, or to the Protectorate sponsored labs, or even to Otherworldly research facilities, those having an unknown boost over the competition, what with their information coming directly from the source, as it were. She'd practically alienated her family for decades at a time, but it was]clear that her dogged persistence had paid off.

Still, she didn’t trust demonkind: she remembered the first few decades of contact, and how terribly broken they had been, those years of rioting and desperate diplomatic talks with the dukes, viziers, and officials of hell, and how bitterly the brokered peace agreement had come to humanity and demons. Dealing with the celestial heavens had taken much less time, given that all that heaven wanted was an affirmation of their status in the universe at large. Simple, even when heaven’s detractors had tried to argue that they couldn’t be trusted farther then anyone could see them in the human realm, and maybe even not then—ridiculous, considering that they’d been talking about Heaven.

As she turned from the window, she sighed. Paranoia about the source of all good in the universe: really, she didn’t know what things were coming to if this was to be seriously debated. The world had been much simpler when she could just look a person in the eye and size them up without having to think if they’d been born here, if they were truly alive. She picked up the suite’s remote, flicking to the room service menu, selecting a hot pot of tea and sandwich set and placing her order. She settled down to start answering her emails while she waited for the food to arrive. She had only done a quick triage of the first few hundred before a knock on the door sounded. Checking the quick heads up on the suite remote, she keyed in an authorization to let the door open, and went back to working on her pile of correspondence, ignoring the steps behind her until they came very close indeed...along with a slight chill. She looked up to see what the problem was when a sharp blow to the head caught her by surprise.

Detective Inspector Chen W looked over the dead body of the pharmaceutical executive as he listened to his partner, the demon, badger details out of the still-excitable Sergent Ma. A wealthy older woman] who was here in this hotel while, of all the ironic things, she was awaiting a full security retrofit of her fancy condo. Owned stock of several labs and minor research companies, as well as a sizable chunk of her family’s main business. And all the security feeds hadpicked up was adding up to nothing, considering that they had been flashed right before the murder had started. There were a few people checking the logs, but in the Hilton, scanning all the records was bound to take some time. And magic, well, that was Chen's department.

“Ah? Family, you said?” Zhu Irzh smiled to himself as he knelt by Chen to watch his partner’s examination of the crime scene. “I do so love a healthy family feud: all of the buried history of a high drama, with twice the backstabbing.”

Chen frowned at Zhu Irzh,and gestured curtly at Ma to continue. “She was one of the three stockholders who held the family majority in trust, and the chair of the board. Her brother was the assistant chair, and her daughter was her assistant. A real mess, this is.” Ma took a deep breath. “The news feeds are all over it. The chief isn’t happy, Chen: the protectorate’s Governor has called a press conference for this afternoon.”

Chen sighed and closed his eyes. Visions of his wife’s faintly reproachful face drifted along the image of the nice quiet meal that he was looking forward to later, as well as the long night’s sleep. This was the sort of case that had the tendency to crawl all over your personal life and spit it out. “All right. I assume the next of kin have been notified? Where were they last night?”

Ma shrugged. “The daughter was out with a few friends, at one of the downtown clubs. Private room, but they had their own personal waitresses going in and out all night, which covers most of the estimated time of death. The brother was at home, so says his security firm. We’re confirming their alibis now.”

Zhu Irzh’s tail twitched. “Indeed. And seeing if we can get a warrant for their accounts, I hope? And an accounting specialist to look into that?”

Sergent Ma made a small face, but flicked his pad to life and made a quick note. Chen’s frown deepened. “You think it’ll come to that?”

The demon shrugged as he rose from his crouch smoothly. “Worth checking out if there’s that much money involved, don’t you think? It’s where I’d start if I was at home.”

Chen frowned as he turned his attention back to examining the body. “Hmm. Well, Sergent, you’d better see to it.” He absently shook his right wrist, uncoiling the bracelet that was there into his hand.

As Sergent Ma made his way out to make a few calls and get the ball rolling through the now almost thoroughly ancient network of computer justice databases, Zhu Irzh looked at his partner. "I need to make a few phone calls," he said. Chen glanced up at him again. "Something important?" The demon shrugged. He wasn't looking forward to the gamut of awkward questions and was hoping that he could avoid it altogether, but the hope of that one was rapidly diminishing. Chen nodded. "We'll talk about it when you return, then."

As Zhu Irzh walked out of the hotel room and turned away from Sergent Ma, he took a moment to reflect upon the nature of serendipity. It wasn't something that he'd had a great deal of time to think about before, being a demon, but it was something that he'd had thrust upon him when he'd come up to the human realm to work with Detective Inspector Chen. Being even formerly blessed by a goddess tended to do that for you, he supposed. Things like that just seemed to happen around Chen's orbit when it was important, though. Even in the more supernaturally inclined Hell, things were more likely to happen to you like a rash, or a plague of bad luck, and usually to other people. Zhu Irzh was just that the sort of person that bad luck didn't stick too closely to for very long, even among other demons. He'd like to think that it was part of his charm, normally.

Still, there was something uncanny about the way events just fell into place around Chen. The way people reacted wasn't as much of a surprise; the man's mild behavior, combined with a very level stare, tended to do things to the psyches of those around him. That, and the man's known skill with dealing with those from beyond his word had spread pretty far in circles that were interested in that kind of thing back at home, and presumably, up in Heaven too. Combined with a liasonship with both Heaven and Hell, and the places in between, it probably wasn't so surprising that things would just fall into place around him, but he'd rarely met his murder suspects a week before the murders took place.

He flipped open his personal wallet, flipping past credit sticks, identification, to where he stored calling cards he’d collected on his personal time. Withdrawing two of them, he sighed, deeply, and typed the first number into his pad. Pressing the dial button, he transferred the first call onto his headset. As he waited to be connected to his caller, he spared a thought that if Inari had asked and Chen had decided to take a special evening off, Zhu Irzh wouldn't have met any of these people. Not that it was his partner's responsibility, exactly, to take care of the demon in any way. It was just a routine that had sprung up over the months and weeks of working together, and if his partner wanted to exercise a little more of his right to time with his wife, well, that was fine too. Zhu Irzh could entertain himself in just about any place he was set down.

Zhu Irzh looked out at the bay as he stuck placed the cigarette in his mouth and watched his partner stride off into the sunset, onto his houseboat. He turned, sauntering off into the crowds as Chen disappeared inside. Wondering idly what he'd do next as the evening stretched wide around him, he was planless, other then a need to eat and satisfy his basic needs . It wasn't exactly that he was bored, but he thought he could use a good bit of entertainment.

Off to the side, a pair of increasingly loud Americans in suits were arguing with each other. As Zhu Irzh strolled closer, the man shook his head in defeat. "Fine! I'm sure there's someplace better to go, anyway." He looked up, and straight into Zhu Irzh’s mild gaze, starting for a moment. Demons weren't terribly common in the Americas yet--silly Christian superstition was fairly widespread there, which Zhu Irzhthought was a pity--such potential lay on their faraway shores. He smiled gently, revealing the slight point of his teeth to the Americans and asked, "I couldn't help but overhear your argument: is there something I can help you with?"

The man flushed as the woman spoke up. "Leon and I were just trying to figure out where to go next. We've just finished our first week of work here, thought we'd go to a bar. Have any good recommendations?"

Zhu Irzh grinned. "Why, follow me. I think I know just the place, and I don't mind doing a little bit of show and tell, if you want more company." He ignored the man's sigh and focused instead on the enthusiastic nod from the woman. "I'm Zhu Irzh, with the Sing 3 police. Homicide, but I'm off duty, you understand."

As they pushed through the harbor side crowd, introducing themselves (Jill, and Leon Orcot), Zhu Irzhu inquired as to what they were doing in Singapore Three, and the woman began to discuss the long and convoluted trail that had lead them there. Through the army and tracked into special ops after a little bit of college on the Army’s dime, one tour in the edges of the ever-continuous Parkistani conflict, a little bit of anti-magery training, then a reassignment to the 353 Special Operations Group and the little kerfluffle in the Philippines for the second tour, concluding, "We decided to go into consulting overseas. Not such a bad gig, although I think Leon's getting a little lonely. Like he always does, when we go out of the country."

"Hey!" Leon protested. "It's not being lonely! I'm just getting the hang of things. Don't know anyone who isn't from the company, yet. Even our neighbors are from the company, right now. Besides him." He shook his head, shooting Zhu Irzh another suspicious look, which Zhu Irzh did his best not to grin at. "How far is it to the bar, anyway?"

"Just a few more blocks. It's not that far." They pushed ahead into the crowds surrounding Chenatown and into a small, smoky bar. It specialized in appetizers that hellkind had a particular yen for, but it was popular with the expat crowd for also dabbling in more Western cuisine. Zhu Irzh had taken a few dates there, to favorable reviews.

As they settled into the bar, giving their drink orders (mai tai for Jill, beer for Leon and a blood and whisky, neat for the demon) along with a few appetizers, Leon looked up at Zhu Irzh. "How did a demon like you get on the local police force, anyway? Thought your kind played the other side."

Ignoring the woman's frown at Leon, Zhu Irzh smiled. "Some of us have a talent for our own kind of police work. I work as liaison between the forces as well as working homicide with my human partner. It's not such a bad position, I suppose. What I'm used to, at any rate: I've been working with the Singapore Three department for the past year and a bit."

Leon's frown intensified. "Liaison, huh..." He didn't look entirely mollified, but he did subside as their drinks were served to them.

Zhu Irzh smiled gently as he lead the Americans deeper into the district surrounding the Chenese quarter, pressing further into the late evening crowd as the American woman contentedly continued to speak of her discoveries on the island so far. Zhu Irzh did his best to smile graciously back at her until she suddenly paused, looking up raptly into a building. Her companion snorted. "It's just another Chenese building, isn't it?"

"Jerk", Jill said, still smiling up at it. "It's charming for a bit of reclaimed architecture. I wonder if this is the real deal? Sing 3 used to be a minor island, didn't it?"

"You're kind to say so, miss." A smooth, soft voice rose from the doorway, only very lightly accented. Zhu Irzh squinted as the figure came into view: it was probably human, but it had presence, a silk-smooth dark whisper across Zhu Irzh's senses that made him want to pause.  
And a beguiling look of understated elegance in classically cut robe and pants. They were anachronistic enough that he'd normally dismiss it as a blatant attempt at seducing a little more of the tourist trade. But it wore them so well, so well that perhaps even he might be tempted to taste or sample. Almost irresistible: it made the demon, he grudgingly admitted, somewhat intrigued.

Well, he supposed a little intrigue wouldn't be entirely out of line, on a lazy Friday evening.

Behind him, the woman spoke, almost reverent. "It's very lovely, sir."

"It's been in the family for several years. One of my great grandfathers opened the shop back in 1856: as you were wondering, I hasten to add that this is still entirely the original architecture. He had it commissioned with some of his savings, once the business started to pick up."

"Oh? It's in good shape, then." Leon snorted as he looked up at the place. "So, what is it?"

"Ah, sir. It is a petshop. And I," the graceful human continued, "am Count D. It is a pleasure to meet you all." He bowed, a move of grace that caught Zhu Irzh's eye with its almost impossible smoothness. Definitely an intriguing human.

"A petshop? In such a lovely building?" Jill was practically thrumming in place with excitement. "What sort of pets do you have here?"

Count D bowed again. "As wide a variety as the mind can think of. I spend my time seeking out rare creatures. Though," he murmured, casting an eye at Zhu Irzh's tail, "that trade itself has become quite different in the last few years then in my grandfather's day."

Leon snorted, but didn't say anything after Jill turned to glare at him. "I see. Big on the family business angle, huh?"

"You could say that." The count —pet owner, whatever— opened the door and turned back from it, oblivious to any other possibilities but the entrance, and beyond, into a golden haze of stairs and lamps and tassels. Of course, Jill stepped forward without reservation, and Zhu Irzh, curious, stepped forward into the golden pool of light. Leon, looking betrayed, stepped into the shop after them. They trailed the count an unlikely group of ducklings, into a parlor full of the most curious gathering Zhu Irzh had seen in awhile. A sizable group, a motley collection of otherworldly spirits, but looking as if they were quite human. Zhu Irzh raised an eyebrow.

Behind him, the man snorted. “Pets, huh. I didn’t think there’d be this kind of ‘pets’ anymore after they started trying to clean this place up.”

Ignoring Jill’s outraged jab into Leon’s stomach, Zhu Irzh wandered closer to the Count to murmur, "Quite a collection you have here. I'm surprised that they don't kill each other instead of looking pretty for tourists." The count gave him a look at that, in spite of the fact that it was all eyelashes and smiles that didn't reach anywhere but the ends of his lips, still managed to look fairly sincere as he muttered a soft demur. Behind them, Jill and Leon continued their poorly hidden argument in whispers.

The count turned to the group, and with a bow, said, "May I introduce you to my collection of fine animals? Most are available for placement immediately in a loving home."

Jill laughed, a hint of nerves causing a bit of tenseness her tone underneath it all.

D had escorted them to a small semicircle of seats and surrounded them with a rotating group of spirits--not unlike a very classy host bar, Zhu Irzh was pleased to find, noting Leon's ever increasing discomfort and blushes--and Zhu Izrh took advantage of the fact that most of the creatures in the room seemed to want to avoid him by watCheng Leon and Jill talk to the ones who perched around the trio. He'd meant every word about his fascination: he hadn't seen a gathering this diverse in quite a few years. It was almost homey, except for the lack of backstabbing and the level of gossip. Even if there was some kind of treaty on the shop, or a geas, it was still fascinating to see this many spirits interact with a modicum of peace. A rare thing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slim figure watCheng them from the corner: her gaze curious, and clearly interested, but not coming forward like half the room. And there was a touch of something else underneath it all, which just made the girl almost too much to resist. While Leon tried to keep the hands of a particularly determined birdwoman off, and Jill laughed as a small dog boy curled up contented around her ankles, Zhu Irzh took the moment to stroll over to the other side of the room and sprawl comfortably on the spot of the chaise lounge that was conveniently empty. He put on his best nonthreatening smile. "Hi."

The cat looked at him, silent as he gazed back. After a few moments spent on a lingering gaze, she nodded once. Count D, who'd appeared suddenly from wherever he'd been waiting, draped a comforting hand across her shoulders. "This is Kucinita. Kucinita, this is Zhu Irzh . I doubt he's more then curious, but surely you two can find something in common to chat about, hmm?" Zhu Irzh noticed that she shifted under the Count's touch, sprawling slightly as she nodded, and secondly, that she had a very long, fine tail. After a moment's more consideration, she offered her hand to Zhu Irzh. "Hello, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you. What do you do?"

Zhu Irzh shook her hand and smiled. "I'm a police investigator, even though I'm not from around here. I do whatever the Chief tells me to do, which doesn't leave me much time for pets, I'm afraid. But it's a pleasure to meet you too, Kucinita. What brings you to the Count’s parlor?" When he watched her smile, he thought he saw a sort of sharpness flash from her eyes. She'd be something to behold if aroused to action, he fancied. Tempting, to get a not-so-tame kitten to live with, but she would be high maintenance, cared for properly, and Zhu Irzh wasn't in the market that deeply. A pity: he'd have to examine the Count’s stock more closely.

"Ahhh..." She tilted her hand carefully as she brushed her hair away from her face and offered up a shy smile. "I'm going to meet someone here this week, the count says. A new friend. Someone who needs a good friend."

Just then, Leon jumped up with a shout, and a few moments later, Jill stood up with a sigh. "I suppose it's past someone's bed time. Zhu Irzh , it was nice to meet you, and Count, likewise."

As the Count ushered Jill and Leon out, a slightly familiar looking young man dressed in an impressive suit, sharp glasses and a slight scowl hurried down the stairs. "Count D! You--we need to talk."

The count backed up carefully with a raised eyebrow. "Surely this can wait until after I deal with this customer, Ran?"

Ran's gazed darkened a bit, and suddenly the picture resolved itself in Zhu Irzh's mind. This was the young master who was beginning to become the archenemy of the human Vice squad, and possibly the new darling of the demonic court's treasury department. He'd be thinking about leaving, but now he wanted an introduction. He reclined slightly, making no move to stand up. Idly, he wondered how he'd never heard of Count D before today: clearly he was missing out on some very tasty gossip.

\--

Zhu Irzh tried both of their numbers, but instead of his targets, met two very polite message systems. He left curt instructions to get back in touch with him as soon as possible, and slid his phone back into its pocket. He'd have to see if the other investigators came up with any more information on Kucinita. He should probably figure out a way to slip Chen thenod, if the man didn't catch it soon. He wasn't sure how to explain that one evening, however.

\--

Mark stood as the Count came into the room. The count, gracious as always, inclined his head gracefully-- as if instead of a street boy, Mark was a high lord. That's why he didn't mind talking to the count, he supposed. The count had any number of habits like that that made one very grateful. Yet, the count gracefully seemed to evade any offers to repay him. Some of them were very generous in the standards of the streets, and yet, he was totally uninterested in anything more then a chocolate bar, or perhaps a very nice cake.

Well, it didn't bother Mark none, and he had a friend in one of the bakeries that the count particularly liked, so he didn't worry about it very much. He just watched where he was asked--never ordered, never overpowered or commanded--and for as long as he could. He could usually talk a few friends into trading shifts with him, so he didn't worry about it too much.

This time, Mark had been set to watCheng the demon in the police department. Though it had been a difficult job from the outset, it hadn't been hard for the reasons he was expecting. Just keeping his eyes on the demon was very difficult--not that he seemed to notice or even mind that there was someone watCheng him. In fact, he even seemed to expect it. Thought that highly of himself, even when he thought he was alone he kept his movements like a dancer's. But sometimes he'd give Mark the slip for a few blocks, and he'd have to search everywhere before he'd be able to see exactly where he'd gone.

Also he hadn't been able to set anyone else to watCheng Zhu Irzh with him. "It will be hard," the count had said, "to find someone else who will be able to perceive him as clearly as you do." And that had been true enough: he'd started off with a few friends, and none of them had been able to see the demon as clearly as he had. None of them could do it from as far away as a block, let alone ten feet ahead of him, which was not ideal for following someone in less then an outright crush. So reluctantly, he'd set himself to the work alone, trusting his friends to back him up enough so that he'd be able to get at least something to eat and maybe a nap or two.

And now he was here in the Count's parlor, ready to tell him about the one and only outstanding thing the demon had done. To be sure, narrowing that down had taken him awhile: it was hard to tell what was extraordinary and what was not in terms of police officers, and being both not human and a part of the homicide department of Sing 3, he was a very strange person to follow indeed. Yet, Mark had gotten what he thought was the hang of Zhu Irzh’s pattern in the past few weeks.

He would rise two hours before his shift with Inspector Chen most days. He would take a leisurely breakfast and toilet before sauntering down the street to work. After work, the demon would go to a restaurant for dinner, and perhaps a club if his workload was light enough. He'd sometimes return home from the club with a lady -- gentlemen never, although Mark had noticed an appreciative glance a time or two and thought the prospect wasn't entirely unlikely, just very rare-- and he wouldn't stay up much later then that before falling asleep. He occasionally took dinner with his landlady--a widow, but still uncommonly beautiful, and as tolerant of Zhu Irzh's behavior as one would be of a particularly indolent cat--and stayed in to read. Mark also noted, that would shop on his days off, a ritual followed up by a visit to the barber and a very luxurious bathhouse which specialized in beauty massage, tended by some very willowy ladies with clever fingers, and then dinner with his partner at his partner's houseboat. Mark had to be very careful around the partner--it was said that the man was a wizard of some repute, and he certainly had some very impressive wards that made Mark's skin tingle if he pressed up against them, as he had once or twice, trying to determine if his target was saying anything especially interesting. There was also something very strange about his kitchen, but he wasn't really sure if that was just the wards messing with his head or something else.

One divergence from the pattern had been when Zhu Irzh had gone to the blood room, although that hadn't been so much of an unusual visit --it was mostly just something that demons did, now and again, liking the taste of human blood. But another visit had been to one of the local temples that specialized in contacting the Otherworldly places, and that had been fairly unusual. From what Mark had heard, he didn't do that often. And he didn't think it was a demonic holiday, either, but it wasn't as if the demons made a big deal about any special occasions that they had, by and large: they were mostly quiet, just like everyone else was about who did what, except for those few loud grannies who still hadn't gotten over the Otherworld's appearance, as if it had really made a difference in everyday life. Mark was just a kid, but as far as he could tell, all the basics were still there, just with a little something extra. They were always the kind of granny that'd shoo any kid caught lingering off their doorstep extra quick, anyway.

Mark had tried to do his best to follow Zhu Irzh into the temple, but given that humans didn't go into those places, he'd settled for perCheng on a stone behind a corner of a stall that was operated by a friend, for easy viewing instead. The demon had seemed a little frustrated when he'd gotten out, he thought, but nothing too notable.

He cleared his throat and at Count D's nod he began his list. He didn't interrupt, but he did listen very intently, stroking the hair of a cat that was on his lap. When he finished, Count D smiled. "I have some cake, if you'd like to sit with me a moment and talk." Mark grinned as nodded, crouCheng down to pet the cat that came up to nudge his ankle.  
\--

Zhu Irzh sat in his cubicle next to Inspector Chen's and rubbed his eyes tiredly as he stared at the list of the data that two weeks of fruitless investigation had brought. It wasn't as if he didn't have the stamina to actually keep up with this sort of thing, but there was something about the way this place switched you around. Contagion principle, he'd heard it called: infected by humans. He sighed, and refocused on the screen in front of him, scrolling through transcripts of the new victim interviews. If anyone was going to get infected by humanity, this was the sort of job that would do it to you. Humans all over.

Besides him, Chen made a soft exhalation, like a whispered shout in the mostly empty room. Glad for the potential diversion, Zhu Irzh stood up to look up over the cubicle wall. "Found something?"

Chen tapped the screen in front of him. "Maybe. Hotel coughed up the records just now. Looks routine, sort of, except for this log. Someone didn't go in for the murders, but someone did go in for maintenance, only they never left again. Of course, if they could get in for maintenance records, they could cover the exit. We should see about doing a walkthrough of the place tomorrow." Zhu Irzh nodded, and Chen continued, "Plus, there's another thing: Ma finally turned up something on one of the checks: looks like the daughter fired one of her security men last week. Said he was making inappropriate advances to her, and insulted her cat. And we have a note from the agency that they haven't been able to find him to fire him as completely as they wanted to do. Thought he'd left."

Zhu Irzh nodded. "Think he might have stuck around? Maybe we should let Ms. Xu know that she should be keeping an eye out for pissed security guards."

Chen nodded. "We can see if we can get an interview set up with her tomorrow afternoon with that walkthrough. If you contact the hotel and Ms. Xu, I'll write a quick update to the report, and swing by and talk to the chief tomorrow morning, see if we can have a car to ourselves for the day."

Zhu Irzh nodded, leaning over his desk to pull his pad out of the comm system. "Which I will do on the way back to my nice bed, I think. See you bright and hopefully late.” Chen gave a slight smile as he bent back to his work.

The next morning, Zhu Irzh was woken up by the sound of his headset beeping urgently, increasing its volume quickly, before any alarm he'd set. He snagged his headset off the bedstand and gave what he hoped would have been a sufficiently]] inquisitive grunt.

On the other end of the connection, Sergent Ma sighed. "Hotel called in another disturbance. Intruder in Ms.Xu’s suite. Possible burglar, but there looks like there's been some kind of altercation. We have a car coming around for you now, and it'll be there in 15 minutes."

Zhu Irzh cursed, for a moment, any impulse whatsoever that made him think that living amongst the bulk of humanity wouldn't be, at times, a trial, and got out of bed.

Twenty minutes later, Zhu Irzh was hopping into the front seat of a car that Chen was driving. Chen tilted his head at a pad on the dashboard, the disposable kind used for carrying around case information. Zhu Irzh picked it up and started flicking through the case files of the latest case. When he saw the jewelry and the scratches around the body of the missing guard, he began to cultivate a certain idea. He kept his face carefully bland on the walkthrough, examining the long cat scratches and the scattered jewelry boxes, and through the interview where a long haired cat, claws carefully cleaned, sat on the elegant Ms. Xu’s lap as she talked about being surprised as she walked into the bathroom to start her day, and the way the cat had managed to jump onto his head, knocking him into the wall as he’d fought her, trying to get her off his chest.

He didn’t manage to keep the sarcastic smirk off his face as he stepped out of the hotel lobby to see the car of the rather suspicious young man and the elegant gentleman with the cakebox in hand. Turning around, Zhu Irzh stuck his cigarette in his mouth and watched the pair make their way into the grand elevator bank. Somehow, he felt as if he’d been played, but he didn’t seem to have it in him to mind.

**Author's Note:**

> I took column a, meshed it with column b and ran with it. I'm not sure if this was quite what you were expecting, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
> 
> The character Kucinita is based on an actual folktale. The story is [here](http://existence.dreamwidth.org/23292.html), and additional meta is [here](http://existence.dreamwidth.org/23357.html).


End file.
